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Acquisition of the counting principles during the subset‐knower stages: Insights from children's errors

Acquisition of the counting principles during the subset‐knower stages: Insights from children's... Studies on children's understanding of counting examine when and how children acquire the cardinal principle: the idea that the last word in a counted set reflects the cardinal value of the set. Using Wynn's (1990) Give‐N Task, researchers classify children who can count to generate large sets as having acquired the cardinal principle (cardinal‐principle‐knowers) and those who cannot as lacking knowledge of it (subset‐knowers). However, recent studies have provided a more nuanced view of number word acquisition. Here, we explore this view by examining the developmental progression of the counting principles with an aim to elucidate the gradual elements that lead to children successfully generating sets and being classified as CP‐knowers on the Give‐N Task. Specifically, we test the claim that subset‐knowers lack cardinal principle knowledge by separating children's understanding of the cardinal principle from their ability to apply and implement counting procedures. We also ask when knowledge of Gelman & Gallistel's (1978) other how‐to‐count principles emerge in development. We analyzed how often children violated the three how‐to‐count principles in a secondary analysis of Give‐N data (N = 86). We found that children already have knowledge of the cardinal principle prior to becoming CP‐knowers, and that understanding of the stable‐order and word‐object correspondence principles likely emerged earlier. These results suggest that gradual development may best characterize children's acquisition of the counting principles and that learning to coordinate all three principles represents an additional step beyond learning them individually. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Developmental Science Wiley

Acquisition of the counting principles during the subset‐knower stages: Insights from children's errors

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References (37)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ISSN
1363-755X
eISSN
1467-7687
DOI
10.1111/desc.13219
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Studies on children's understanding of counting examine when and how children acquire the cardinal principle: the idea that the last word in a counted set reflects the cardinal value of the set. Using Wynn's (1990) Give‐N Task, researchers classify children who can count to generate large sets as having acquired the cardinal principle (cardinal‐principle‐knowers) and those who cannot as lacking knowledge of it (subset‐knowers). However, recent studies have provided a more nuanced view of number word acquisition. Here, we explore this view by examining the developmental progression of the counting principles with an aim to elucidate the gradual elements that lead to children successfully generating sets and being classified as CP‐knowers on the Give‐N Task. Specifically, we test the claim that subset‐knowers lack cardinal principle knowledge by separating children's understanding of the cardinal principle from their ability to apply and implement counting procedures. We also ask when knowledge of Gelman & Gallistel's (1978) other how‐to‐count principles emerge in development. We analyzed how often children violated the three how‐to‐count principles in a secondary analysis of Give‐N data (N = 86). We found that children already have knowledge of the cardinal principle prior to becoming CP‐knowers, and that understanding of the stable‐order and word‐object correspondence principles likely emerged earlier. These results suggest that gradual development may best characterize children's acquisition of the counting principles and that learning to coordinate all three principles represents an additional step beyond learning them individually.

Journal

Developmental ScienceWiley

Published: Jul 1, 2022

Keywords: cardinal principle; counting; counting principles; Give‐N; preschool children

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